Use Your Creative Impulse To Feed Your Business Projects

It’s hard get up every morning, go to an office, and do your best work every single day. I don’t care what job you have or who you work for, it’s difficult performing at your peak 40 hours or more a week.

The writer and marketing staff have an even more difficult task. They are hired to be creative and enthusiastic about a product or service on behalf of the company they work for. Most can work themselves up to significant levels of excitement, but to do it every single day is a practical impossibility. And the longer you’re inside an organization and the more you see of the “sausage making” for any product or service, the more difficult it becomes.

But there are ways that you can stay fresh and engaged in such tasks. It’s counterintuitive, but it is very effective. You must have a creative life that is separate from your work.

Trust me, I understand. I’ve been a young parent with a demanding job. I know it’s difficult just to have a life at all outside of work. But it’s having a creative life that will help you to see possibilities, to keep your mind limber and active, and help you to have a positive outlook about what you do for money.

Some might call it having a hobby, but it’s far more than that. I believe that we all need some creative outlet that allows us to step back and take pride in our creation, to say, “I made that.” For me, I write, but I also cook. You might make birdhouses, knit sweaters, play an instrument, or paint landscapes. It doesn’t matter what your creative outlet is; it’s just vital that you have one and you engage in that activity as frequently as possible. Doing it every day is best.

Why? Because creative work helps one practice the very important skills that give you greater insight. True creativity is both original AND appropriate – meaning that your creative ideas work. You can start the creative process by taking flights of fancy, but you end up with ideas that result in making things or taking actions that are functional, evoke thoughts and emotions, or bring a new perspective to the viewer.

And just like physical exercise, which increases energy and feelings of wellbeing long after the activity, creative work energizes your mental capabilities to new heights and that effect lasts for some time as well.

Creativity is fundamental to problem solving. And that is a critical business skill.

I urge you to find some time, every day, to do creative work for yourself,  not for someone else. Do it for yourself. And the benefits will accrue not only for you, but your employer as well.